Four Houses
by cimberelly
Summary: Each Hogwarts house finds value in different traits and virtues. These stories are explorations of that idea with the participation of one Arthur Kirkland (and a certain Gryffin-er, Alfred F. Jones will make appearances every now and then).
1. Chapter 1: Slytherin

**Title:** Four Houses

**Author:** Me!

**Rating:** PG

**Warnings:** AU, Harry Potter stuff, Human names used

**Characters:** England (Arthur Kirkland), America (Alfred F. Jones) maybe USUK if you squint

**Notes:** Part of my Pottertalia "Let's sort England into all four houses and see what happens!" project, which was inspired by all the Pottertalia stuff on Tumblr, especially Haku's stuff. Look at me being productive! And wow, look at me publishing fanfiction over here again...

**Summary:** Each Hogwarts house finds value in different traits and virtues. These stories are explorations of that idea with the participation of one Arthur Kirkland (and a certain Gryffin-er, Alfred F. Jones will make appearances every now and then).

**Chapter I: Slytherin**

He walked these halls every day, the same halls he's walked for the past six years, and somehow he still can't ignore what it's like. The stares, the whispers, the animosity. Six years and everything remained the same after he was bestowed green and silver to wear.

He remembered the first time he stepped beyond Hogwarts' doors. Everything was larger, frightening, uncertain. He was an Unsorted first year and he knew what was expected of him. The Kirklands were Gryffindors through and through and he was expected to uphold the family name. His brothers had all proved to be Gryffindors of the highest calibre, each finding their calling and making Hogwarts and the family proud. He was expected to follow in their footsteps and no one doubted that he could and would, despite his brothers' teasing and roughhousing.

But even then, at 11 years old and his future set out before him, little Arthur Kirkland had to wonder, what if things went differently?

"Hey Kirkland, scared any first years with those caterpillars on your face today?"

Green eyes turned towards the direction of the call and he did his best to ignore the initial feeling of something soft yet hollowing in his chest when he spied the owner of the distinctive voice. Instead, he let the familiar burn of annoyance and disdain take over as he always did, eyes narrowing at the sight of bright blue eyes behind glasses coupled with an infuriatingly superior smirk.

"Very original, Jones." He replied with his usual cool, one of those famed caterpillar eyebrows raising in idle inquiry. "How long did that take for you to come up with? Do try harder. Maybe then I'll actually care to think of saying something witty right back."

He walked on before he caught a glimpse of whatever expression there was on the Gryffindor's open face and shut out the retort yelled after him even though the encounter was most certainly over. Despite walking away, he couldn't help the way he scowled, not unaffected at all by what just happened. Gryffindors, walking around like they owned the school with arrogance and bravado in spades. There was no doubt that Alfred F. Jones, Quidditch Star and Golden Boy, fit right in, especially with how he reveled in the house rivalry. How he hated him, despised everything about him. Why couldn't he just leave him alone?

Six years and everything remained the same since he donned silver and green.

As an innocent child, he asked what it would have been like if things were different and he got his answer.

He got a dungeon instead of a tower and it indeed felt like a fall from grace. He was distrusted if not outright despised on sight. He didn't even need to speak a word; the colors of his robes marked him with their dark reputation. Cunning became more valued than courage and he grew cold and calculating. There would be no friends, just allies, and he would never take Alfred F. Jones' hand in friendship ever again. Don't even get him started on his family...

There was a reason why he was sorted into Slytherin, however. It wasn't long before he learned, adapted and then thrived. It didn't take him long before he had come to accept what he had been given and to plan what to do with it. And as he walked these halls and remembered that, his shoulders squaring and his eyes looking forward, he reminded himself that he had been given an opportunity (not a curse as most people seem to think) and he would show them.

He would show them all.


	2. Chapter 2: Hufflepuff

**Title:** Four Houses

**Author:** Me!

**Rating:** PG

**Warnings:** AU, Harry Potter stuff, Human names used

**Characters:** England (Arthur Kirkland), America (Alfred F. Jones) more of USUK this time around

**Notes:** Part of my Pottertalia "Let's sort England into all four houses and see what happens!" project, which was inspired by all the Pottertalia stuff on Tumblr, especially that artwork by Haku.

**Summary:** Each Hogwarts house finds value in different traits and virtues. These stories are explorations of that idea with the participation of one Arthur Kirkland (and a certain Gryffin-er, Alfred F. Jones will make appearances every now and then).

**Chapter II: Hufflepuff**

"What are you doing here, Jones?"

Alfred F. Jones turned towards the entrance of the kitchens quickly, blue eyes wide behind his glasses as he stood there and his brain yelled at his hands to drop the food and run. But when he saw who it was who caught him, he couldn't help grinning guiltily instead of making a run for it, not caring that he probably looked silly with crumbs along his lips and cheeks.

"Hey, Artie." He greeted the Hufflepuff Prefect standing by the door with his usual cheerful grin. After a moment, he held out the piece of treacle tart he had been enjoying just a few moments before. "Treacle tart?"

In response, the Prefect, Arthur Kirkland, rolled his eyes and stepped into the room. Even if it was late, the House Elves were of course still up and about and ready to serve. They asked Arthur if there was anything he wanted to eat as he passed and in turn, the Prefect shook his head and politely turned down their offers. Despite Alfred's most generous offer to share his bounty, Arthur just looked grumpy as usual when he finally stood before him. The look on his face was just made worse by those eyebrows, Alfred thought. Not that he'd say anything, knowing the older boy's temper.

"What are you doing here? It's almost midnight." The Prefect asked, completely ignoring the offer of food made by the other student. "You know you should be in bed or at least in your dormitory."

Alfred was of course quick to insist. "But I was hungry!"

"You're always hungry." Arthur deadpanned.

"Hey, are you saying I'm fat?!"

Arthur looked at him with a bit of his usual irritation as Alfred pouted at him in offense. It looked like Arthur had to take some time to breathe and compose himself before he responded. "No, but the fact of the matter is you're breaking the rules and I should be taking you to a prefect from your house so they can deal with you properly."

"But Artie-" Alfred slipped into that ridiculous nickname again and Arthur's eyebrows furrowed even more. He quickly made amends. "Arthur, come on. The O.W.L.s are really stressing me out! I ran out of snacks while I was studying, so I had to come here to recharge. That's it, really. I'm not planning on blowing anything up or slipping something into the food-"

He really should stop babbling when he's stressed out; it just makes things worse for him and that fact is made perfectly clear when Arthur's stare just turned suspicious. Alfred had been known to pull a prank or two after all. He was in hot water and he knew that if he didn't say anything convincing soon, he was doomed.

"Herbology!" Alfred suddenly blurted out. "The test is in two days! Your notes, I really gotta focus on those notes you let me borrow and I still gotta memorize a lot of stuff. C'mon, man, cut me some slack here. Please?"

Then he pulled out the secret weapon: puppy dog eyes. Those were always effective on Arthur for some reason. He usually got (grudgingly) forgiven for turning in sloppy homework for checking and being late for Herbology tutoring sessions when he put them to use. The flush on Arthur's face was telling and him frowning and looking away pretty much sealed the deal.

"Fine." Arthur grumped and Alfred had to resist whooping. "However, you will do your best in your Herbology O.W.L.s, both written and practical, or else!"

Alfred wouldn't really think about it later, why he ended up hugging Arthur after being granted pardon for being out and about after curfew. But then he had always thought that Arthur needed his personal space breached every now and then so he'd take a break from being serious and stuffy. Plus Alfred was totally convinced that the Hufflepuff Prefect was a big ol' softy deep inside and that was kind of adorable.


	3. Chapter 3: Gryffindor

**Title:** Four Houses

**Author:** Me!

**Rating:** PG

**Warnings:** AU, Harry Potter stuff, Human names used

**Characters:** England (Arthur Kirkland), America (Alfred F. Jones) more of USUK this time around

**Notes:** Part of my Pottertalia "Let's sort England into all four houses and see what happens!" project, which was inspired by all the Pottertalia stuff on Tumblr, especially that artwork by Haku. This part was probably inspired by zeplerfer's "Quidditch House Rules". Please also take the time to read that when you can! :D

**Summary:** Each Hogwarts house finds value in different traits and virtues. These stories are explorations of that idea with the participation of one Arthur Kirkland (and a certain Gryffin-er, Alfred F. Jones will make appearances every now and then).

**Chapter III: Gryffindor**

The Quidditch Pitch was empty, quiet and Arthur had to take some time to actually appreciate the experience. He wasn't used to having it be so silent and serene. It was usually occupied by one house team at a time to practice for their respective matches through the year. There would be shouts of commands, pointers, encouragements and scoldings as the team went through warm ups, drills and skirmishes. Brooms and riders zoomed to and fro as Quaffles were passed and intercepted, Bludgers were batted and avoided and the Snitch whizzed in and out of sight.

Arthur sighed and was almost surprised at how alien it sounded against the peaceful quiet. It felt so strange to be back, but it wasn't bad at all. If anything, it felt a lot like coming home.

"Are you just gonna stand there and stare at the pitch? Really?"

Well, the peace was interrupted then and there. Arthur looked up to find Alfred some ten feet off the ground, comfortably seated on his broom. The current Gryffindor Quidditch Captain was grinning at him with his usual smarmy smugness and Arthur felt the familiar urge to reach out and smack him. Didn't that just bring him right back and make him feel like he hadn't left Hogwarts almost a year earlier?

"No patience as always, I see?" Arthur inquired just as he tested his grip on his own broom by his side and moved to prepare for kicking off from the ground. "I see you haven't changed."

He got an eyeroll for his response though matched with Alfred's usual sunny grin, the gesture looked charming rather than obstinate. Typical. "You've only been outta here for a few months. Just coz _someone_'s pushing papers now doesn't mean a lot's changed that much-HEY!"

It was Arthur's turn to give Alfred a bit of a smug grin, which was actually more of a smirk as he hovered just a head or two above the younger Gryffindor while sitting and balancing perfectly on his own broom. In his hand were Alfred's glasses. "You still talk too much and let yourself get distracted. A bad move on your part, Jones. Should I start regretting my decision for choosing you as my successor? And also, I would like to remind you that I don't just 'push papers'. I work for the Department of International Magical Cooperation and some day- "

"You'll be Minister of Magic blah blah blah~ I've heard this a thousand times!" Alfred interrupted him just as he moved forward and snatched his glasses back from Arthur's lax grip. "So are we gonna fly or what? Or are you too slow now with all the sitting you do in your cushy office?"

It was a challenge, certainly, and one he had come to expect from the younger blond after meeting him a couple of years ago. Alfred F. Jones wanted to be the best Quidditch player in the history of Hogwarts and did whatever it took to be able to be the best. Even pestering the Gryffindor Seeker, and soon Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, for pointers and advice. No one thought they would eventually become friends, given how badly they seemed to get along at first.

"May I remind you that I was able to nick your glasses with hardly any problem. I don't think I'm the slow one."

"I was giving you time to get ready! Stretch out your old man muscles and all that!"

"Excuses, excuses." Arthur guided his broom to face the pitch, idly relishing the gentle wind on his face from that height. After a moment, he turned to ask Alfred another question, "Now, have you been practicing that dive I taught you?"

Alfred answered with a very enthusiastic thumbs up. "You betcha!"

Arthur almost smiled at the enthusiasm. If there was anything to redeem Alfred and his loud, obnoxious personality, it was the fact that he worked hard to get what he wanted. "Well then, let's see what you've accomplished."

"I've been trying to get us moving, but noooooo~" With that, Alfred got into position, leaning forward to get a good grip on his broom. He then glanced to Arthur beside him. "Ready?"

The older blond responded with a gentlemanly incline of his head, hands steady on the handle of his broom as he bent low. "Whenever you are."

Alfred grinned, blue eyes shining with excitement behind his glasses. "Let's go!"

And then they were off, racing forward in a flurry of ruffling robes, zooming and twisting effortlessly in a show of aerial athleticism. Alfred had always been a showman in the air, doing tricks and dives to catch everyone's attention. His style was wild, almost unpredictable. Arthur called his style "more of daring rather than talent". Meanwhile, Alfred would say that Arthur's style was "too safe, too boring, too fixed on technique". Arthur was a smooth flyer with every exact and precise move, displaying natural skill polished with endless hours of practice. Well, that was until Arthur did those hair-raising, death-defying dives and then all bets were off.

Arthur was one of the best Seekers of Gryffindor and he didn't become this by being "too safe, too boring, too fixed on technique". When he caught sight of that Snitch, even when it seemed impossible to catch, he went after it and didn't quit until he didn't do all that he could or until he finally caught it.

Alfred knew this and Arthur was quite pleased he hadn't forgotten despite how he may tease and taunt him. It definitely showed when, after getting warmed up, they finally tried a dive. Arthur watched from the corner of his eye as Alfred's face turned serious, that blue-eyed stare sharp and focused, as they both dove towards the very ground of the pitch itself as if the Snitch was there just waiting for them to close their fingers around it.

The wind whistled in his ears and his eyes almost teared at the pressure, but Arthur held on and didn't hold back just as Alfred continued on with him to the very end it seemed, ready to claim his legacy.


	4. Chapter 4: Ravenclaw

**Title:** Four Houses

**Author:** Me!

**Rating:** PG

**Warnings:** AU, Harry Potter stuff, Human names used

**Characters:** England (Arthur Kirkland), America (Alfred F. Jones)

**Notes:** Part of my Pottertalia "Let's sort England into all four houses and see what happens!" project, which was inspired by all the Pottertalia stuff on Tumblr, especially that artwork by Haku. And this fic is now finished! Thank you so much for reading! :D

**Summary:** Each Hogwarts house finds value in different traits and virtues. These stories are explorations of that idea with the participation of one Arthur Kirkland (and a certain Gryffin-er, Alfred F. Jones will make appearances every now and then).

**Chapter IV: Ravenclaw**

A lot of people thought Alfred's babysitter, Arthur, was weird for a couple of reasons.

One of them was obviously that he was a 13-year-old boy who spent his summers from school babysitting Alfred himself. A boy his age would rather spend his summers from school enjoying the company of other boys his age rather than taking the time to tutor Alfred on his English and watching over him while his parents were out. But then it didn't seem that Arthur had any friends aside from Alfred so Alfred pretty much thought it was just obvious that Arthur should spend all of his time from school with him. They were bestfriends and that was what bestfriends did.

Then there was Arthur's school that his parents or brothers hardly talked about. None of them ever really gave a concrete answer as to the name of the school that Arthur attended, the school he disappeared to for most of the year. As far as everyone who asked knew, it was a boarding school in Scotland and it was a special school of sorts. Arthur was smart so Alfred figured if he went to a special school then it was a good thing.

And Arthur was just so, so very _odd_. There were times when he would sit by himself and seem to be speaking to things no one else saw and what was his possessive protectiveness with that fancy broom he has in his room? Then there were the stories of Arthur when he was younger, which were very, very strange indeed. Like how he was said to have made his eyebrows grow back overnight after his brother Rhys "accidentally" singed them. As for that, Alfred thought the eyebrows bit was kind of cool (though they seem to have grown far too thick...) and he knew all about the broom but Arthur made him swear not to tell.

Because Arthur was a wizard and it was their secret.

Arthur was a great storyteller, always have been, and someone more skeptical would not have believed him, would have just added his stories to the evidence of how weird Arthur Kirkland was, but Alfred believed every bit of it. It wasn't just because they were the very best of friends but because Arthur trusted him with proof.

No, Arthur never showed him how to perform a spell. Arthur had informed him rather sternly that he couldn't do that without getting a warning or worse from the Ministry of Magic. But there were books and the pictures! The pictures moved and no way were they holograms. Arthur even showed him those Chocolate Frogs and boy was he never going to eat any food shaped like an animal ever again.

Arthur told him about Hogwarts, his school, and Alfred was almost jealous and very sad that he would probably never be able to visit, much less attend the school itself. It all sounded so awesome, studying subjects like Charms and Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts and being able to see unicorns and a giant squid for real. And don't get him started on Quidditch and flying on brooms! Arthur went to a magical school and he was so, so jealous!

He was mollified somewhat when Arthur Sorted him (even having him wear a pointed hat!) and declared him a Gryffindor. a bold and courageous lion. He even got his own house badge pin which he stored carefully in a little box and kept in his underwear drawer because he didn't want to lose it. Arthur was a Ravenclaw and he told Alfred that his House valued wit, learning and wisdom. Alfred thought it suited Arthur since he loved to read and he was very patient with teaching Alfred his English, always reminding him that school and learning were important.

Arthur had always taken his studies seriously but more than that he just seemed to enjoy learning new things and also keeping up with the developments of the non-magical Muggle world. While he studied his magical subjects, he also took the time to read about Science and what he called Muggle History, normal History for Alfred, when he could. He also enjoyed watching documentaries about all sorts of things on his computer with Alfred and making use of the Internet. He sometimes complained about having to write his Hogwarts homework by hand when typing everything up was much more convenient. Arthur even still followed his favorite football teams when he had the chance.

And Arthur just encouraged Alfred on what he liked to do when he grew up. Alfred wanted to be many things, a cowboy one day, an astronaut another. It was sometimes ridiculous, often far fetched but Arthur didn't seem to mind. He just asked a lot of questions then it wouldn't be long before he had all sorts of text for Alfred to study in relation to his current interest. It sometimes exhausted Alfred and it didn't take long for him to try and drag Arthur out to play outside, but it didn't mean he wasn't thankful for Arthur's encouragement. It just got too heavy sometimes and Alfred was only nine and he really did need the time to burn off some of that hyperactive energy he had.

Alfred missed Arthur when he was away. Sure, he had school and other friends to keep him busy and Arthur always sent him letters through his owl, which was also wicked cool, but it still wasn't the same. It was kind of weird spending so much time with one person for some months to have them just go away again. And besides, no one was like Arthur Kirkland.

If only he could be a wizard and study in Hogwarts too.


End file.
